I see that the slow boat to financial reform continues to drift sideways, as Senate Banking Committee member Bob Corker followed Paul Volcker's call for action yesterday with a sorry-no-can-do.

Unlike health-care reform, Democrats will need the support of a Republican like Corker to get a bill containing resolution authority for big banks, derivatives regulation, and consumer protection enacted this year. Only one piece of legislation can be passed through the budget reconciliation process in any one year, and now that the process was used for health-care reform, everything else will require a filibuster-proof majority that the Democrats no longer have.

Turns out, the Senate's financial reform package has two provisions that impact investment in startups. And venture capitalists and angel investors are up in arms about them.

The first provision addresses the definition of "accredited investor", that is, those funders who are allowed to invest in a startup. Up until now, that's been someone with a net worth of over $1 million or income of more than $200,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples. The bill would increase those minimums, to $2.3 million in net worth and $450,000 and $674,000 in income.